Wire rope center testing



Dec- 14, 1943 J. J. BURKE ET AL WIRE ROPE CENTER TESTING originai Filed April 1o, 1939 2 sheets-sheet 1 n" @Hmmm .NUE

Dec. 14, 1943. I J. J. BURKE ET Al. 2,336,980

WIRE RQPE CENTER TESTING Original Filed April l0, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 1 JOHN /055/0# @UEKE ma a g ff//rfe/r C45/05a,

Patented Dec. 14, i943 ,Sigg

sTA'rEsy PATENT ori-TCE WIRE ROPE CENTER TESTING @riginal application April 10, 1939, Serial No.

267,106. Divided and this application November 19, 1941, Serial No. 419,782

3 Claims.

This invention relates to wire rope centers or cores and is particularly concerned with testing these centers or cores to determine how they will act in a rope laying machine and when placed in service as part of a iinished rope.

This application is a division of an application iiled April 10, 1939, Serial No. 267,106, and now Patent No. 2,265,142.

A specific example of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation;

Figures 2 and 3 are enlargements taken from Figure 1;

Figure i is a sectional enlargement taken from Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a modiiication.

More specifically, these drawings show a bench I mounting a chuck 2 and a cam type jaw 3, these two units being adapted to engage the opposite ends of a rope center specimen C whose characteristics are to be determined.

The chuck 2 reciprocatively rides a guide d and connects with a screw 5 reciprocated by a nut-gear 6 turned by motor l through a gear reduction unit 8. Operation of the motor 'I reciprocates the screw 5 which is xed against rotation, and so reciprocates chuck 2.

It is possible to tension the center by means of the above arrangement, the jaw 3 reciprocatively riding a guide 9 and connecting through a bar I with a tension indicating scale II, the latter applying the necessary reaction to the jaw 3 by way of the connecting bar IB, so that the center specimen may be tensioned. At the same time, the scale indicates the tension applied the specimen.

Connection of the screw with the chuck 2 is by way of a frame I2, the chuck being rotatively carried by this frame, its rotation being effected by a worm gear i3 fixed to its rotative mounting shaft and operated by a worm It powered by a handwheel I5. The number of rotations or turns given the specimen is indicated by a counter I6 connected with the rotative shaft of the chuck by way of gearing El.

Fibrous rope centers are made under tension by cordage manufacturers with a certain number of crowns per unit of length. When a specimen is cut, the tension on this specimen is released so that its strands untwist, it then no longer being truly representative of the center to be tested. The above-described twisting mechanism may be used to retwist the specimen toprovide it with the proper number of crowns per unit of length, or it may be used to give the specimen ,-5

a different twist than was imparted by the cordage manufacturer.

A circular frame i8 is fixed to the top of the bench I intermediate the chuck and jaw 3 so that the specimen passes through this frame.

A plurality of hydraulic cylinders I9 are positioned by this frame I8 so as to point radially toward the specimen, pistons 20 operating in these cylinders I9 andthe latter being interconnected and connected with a suitable source of fluid under pressure, the pressure applied the cylinders being indicated by a pressure gage 2l.

Each of the above pistons 2i) removably carries an element 22 at its outer end, this element being in the form of a round bar having its outer surface contoured to simulate at least approximately the contour of a rope strand. There should be one of these elements 22 for each of the strands of the rope for which the center, the specimen of which is under test, is to be used, the drawings illustrating six cylinders, pistons and elements because the six-strand rope is a common rope. Also, the diameters of the elements 22 should be the same as these rope strands, andl the contours of these elements should, preferably, exactly simulate the contours of these strands. In actual practice very satisfactory results are obtained when the elements 22 are simply smooth, round bars having the same diameters as the rope strands to be laid over the center, the specimen of which is under test. In all cases, the elements 22 should have suicient lengths to act as do rope strands closing on a center in a rope laying machine.

To use the testing apparatus here described, the specimen is xed in the chuck 2 and jaw 3, the motor 'I being used to apply tension to the specimen and the handwheel I5 being operated to twist the specimen.' The scale Il provides an indication of the tension applied the specimen while the number of twists it is given are shown by the counter I6.

Fluid is then applied to the various cylinders i9, this forcing the elements 22 radially against the rope to simulate the action'of rope strands closing on a center. The pressure required to bring the elements into tangency may be used, for instance, as an indication of what the die pressure must be when actual rope strands are closed on the center in the die of a rope laying machine.

Since the elements 22 are straight, instead of helical, it is necessary to apply a correction factor in calculating the results of the test. This factor is based upon the angle of lay of the actual rope, the secant of the angle of lay of the rope strands about the center of the laying machine being known.

Many rope laying machines use a two-part rope strand closing die, and in such instances the ap'- plication of equal pressure to all the elements 22 may not provide an accurate indication of what will take place in the machine. The modication, therefore, shows an arrangement using only two of the cylinders I9 and pistons 2t, each of the latter mounting an element providing three interconnected round bars, this arrangement simulating the action of a two-part die. In case a four-part die is used by the rope laying machine, there should be four cylinders and pistons, each provided with elements simulating the` rope strands handled by the various die parts. is to say, pressure may be applied the elements in the same manner it is applied in the rope laying machine.

It is to be understood that a wire rope conventionally comprises a vplurality of helical strands each made up of a plurality of intertwisted Wires, the strands being laid on a center or core which radially supports the strands to hold them in their proper relation when the rope is tensioned. Such a center or core is 'usually made up of hemp bers, it having somewhat the appearance of hemp rope but being specially designed to enable it to properly perform its in- That tended function. Sometimes the center or core Y is made of intertwisted wires, or it may be made of rubber or the like. In all instances the center or core is a very important part of the rope into which it is incorporated, since if it fails to properly support the rope strands the latter lose their relative positions so that tensile stresses do not properly distribute through the strands whereby one or another of the latter receives `more than its share of the load, this causing the rope to fracture under a smaller load than'that calculated as the ultimate load the rope should carrysafely. At the presentV time, there is no accurate means for predetermining the action of an untried center except by incorporating it in an eX- perimental rope made in a rope laying machine. To be a truly' representative test, this requires the manufacture of a considerable length of rope, this involving an expensive outlay of material and the stoppage of production insofar as is concerned the machine used to make the test length.

The'use of the present invention permits an experimental determination of the pressure that must be applied to close the rope strands over a newly designed center. It is possible to vary the speed with whichv the various elements are powered to radially press them against the specimen, this enabling the test to give at least some indication of what will occur when the rope strands are dynamically pressed against the center of the rope laying machine. y

Furthermore, the invention permits a determination of the effects of varying the tension on the center as well as varying its twist. It is to be understood that the length of the specimen should be sufl'icient to be truly representative of the center and, as previously indicated, that the lengths of the various elements 22 should be suicient to be truly representative of what occurs when the actual rope strands are laid in place.

As previously mentioned, the elements 22 are removably carried by the pistons 20, and there should be a supply of these elements of varying diameters, numbers and groupings to permit the machine to be used to test centers used in the various types of rope constructions. A

It is, of course, possible to modify the details of the machine while still obtaining the various advantages. The specific means by which the elements 22 are removably fixed to the pistons 20 Ywhich are illustrated by the drawings but not previously described, these guides serving to indicate a given length of the center specimen, this being necessary to determine the number of crowns obtained per unit of length of the specimen by twisting and tensioning the latter, amounts which can be determined by the scale I I and counter I6. Although the various elements are shownas being pressed against the specimen by hydraulic means, it is possible to use mechanical means provided with suitable pressure indicating instruments.V

We claim:

1. The method of testing a liber center for wire ropes so as to predetermine the proper amount of compression to which it should be subjected by wire strands when laid into rope, which includes tensioning a unit length of such a center, correcting the degree of twist of said center to aiord the proper angle of lay of the corded fiber constituents thereof if necessary, subjecting substantially the entire superficial area ofthe unit length of center to uniform, radially-applied compressive stress while under tension suflicient to bring the center to a predetermined dimension, and measuring the amount of said compressive stress.

2. The method of effecting a predetermination of the setting of wire rope stranding dies in relation to the compression of a corded ber center about vwhich Wire strands are laid into rope, which includes tensioning a length of such a ber center provided with the correct angle of lay, subjectingaunit length .of the tensioned extent. of said center kto radially compressive forces applied substantially uniformly and evenly over the superficial area thereof sufficient to bring the center to a predetermined dimension, measuring said compressive forces, and presetting the wire rope strandingdies to lsubject the center to corresponding compressive conditions during the laying of the Wire strands into rope about such a Center.

3. In the manufacture of wire rope having a corded fiber center therein, the manner of predetermining the proper setting of the rope stranding dies for the laying of wire strands into rope about a corded ber center so as to subject the latter to the optimum degree of compression, which includes tensioning a length of center between two points, arranging a unit length of the tensioned portions of said center so as to afford the requisite vangle of lay to its corded constituents, subjecting substantially the entire superficial extent of said unit length of tensioned center to radial compressive stress sufficient to bring the center to a predetermined dimension, measuring said compressive stress, translating the unit pressures thus derived into terms of the rope stranding dies, and setting said dies accordingly incident to the commencement of the wirerope spinning operation.

JOHN JOSEPH BURKE. EDWIN ERNEST CASPEL-L. 

